Police are investigating the death of a Hampstead, Maryland, man after the forklift he was operating crashed into a shelving unit. The Maryland workplace accident happened at the Random House Publishing warehouse in Westminster while the man was moving books stacked on pallets.

Area fire and rescue units responding to the accident scene worked to free the man who was wedged between the shelving unit and the forklift. Attempts to revive the injured worker were unsuccessful.

News of the worker's death has traveled through the various Random House Publishing offices and warehouses around the country, bringing a flood of sympathy notes for the worker's family.

Maryland state law requires that any death in which a physician is not present as a witness is automatically investigated by police. The body was transported to the State Medical Examiner's office for autopsy.

The accident continues to be under investigation by the Carroll County Maryland Sheriff Department. The Maryland office of the Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA) is launching a separate inquiry into the fatality.

The 44-year-old man had been employed at the Westminster Random House facility for almost two years.

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